Liya turns laughing into a career
He said comedy was never been his first choice but comedy found him.
Liyabona Dyulethe, known as Liya Nqaba on his social media platforms, is turning laughs into money.
The comedian hailing from the Eastern Cape now resides in Primrose and said once the comedy bug bit him he never looked back.
“I fell in love with comedy in 2016 after seeing an ad on TV. I decided I would try it out. I never saw comedy as a career or even seeing myself doing comedy,” said Liya.
He started putting himself out there as a comedian in 2017 by sharing his recordings speaking about everyday life challenges and how it is being young in the village.
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“I use everyday life, social challenges and societal issues that people sometimes don’t even want to say but are thinking and I tell it using satire,” said Liya.
His work started making the rounds on Whatsapp groups and Facebook and that was the start of many great things for him.
“When people started sharing my videos they started following me and liking my work. My fanbase started growing and that propelled me to get on stage and share my work,” said Liya.
He said allowing himself to get on stage and perform allowed him to share stages with big names from the comedy circle.“I have had opportunities to perform with the giants of the industry. The likes of Siya Seya, Trevor Gumbi, TollAsMo, Ta Fire, Celest Ntuli to mention a few. It’s a humbling experience and also a motivation to keep working on my craft and keep on growing as a comedian,” said Liya.
He moved to Germiston in 2019 because he wanted to be closer to the hub of it all.
He said comedy was never been his first choice but comedy found him.
“I was not sure how my content would be received. But so far the response has been good. I have been able to make locals laugh and release stress through my funny videos that trend on social media platforms. Through my work, I have become a role model to the youth,” said Liya.
He said he is happy to be able to inspire young people.
“When I started I did not even have the proper equipment. I want the youth to hold onto faith and know you don’t have to have it all, but you can use the little that you have to get started. I started my comedy career using my phone with low quality, but I got started,” said Liya.
He said young people must be passionate about what they want and complement it with studying.
“Always listen to your gut feeling, follow your passion and surround yourself with people who do what they are passionate about. Also, try to study something related to that passion because knowing the industry, its history, highs and lows is always a great advantage to have,” said Liya.
The young comedian has been nominated in the Eastern Cape Youth Awards under the entertainment category.
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